North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr.'s new 2017 Hyundai Genesis G80 — a luxury car worth $47,000 and leased for $524 a month at taxpayers' expense — has some in the city, including three aldermen, worried about wasteful spending, while Rockingham and others say the vehicle is necessary for travel and entertaining business and government leaders.

A measure to approve leasing the car for the mayor was narrowly approved by the council in a 4-3 vote during a Feb. 27 City Council meeting. The three aldermen who voted no — Ald. Bobby Allen, 4th; Ald. Torrance Markham, 5th; and Ald. Kathy January, 7th — questioned whether the mayor needs the car at a time when North Chicago's rising labor and pension costs and declining property tax values are contributing to potential structural imbalances in the city budget.

Rockingham and Public Works Director Ed Wilmes said the car is justified because the mayor often has to travel on the city's behalf to Springfield and other places and frequently hosts business leaders, taking them around North Chicago in an effort to lure development and jobs.

Genesis is Hyundai's line of luxury vehicles, competing with brands such as Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The G80, a four-door sedan that has 311 horsepower and gets 28 highway miles per gallon, starts at $41,400 and can cost as much as $54,550 with upgrades, according to the Genesis website. The cash value of Rockingham's edition is $47,000, according to North Chicago's lease agreement with Lake Bluff-based Knauz Motor Sales.

The lease is for three years; the 36 monthly payments of $523.83 add up to $18,857.88.

Michael Schmidt / Lake County News-Sun

North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham photographed at a "Congress on Your Corner" event on March 18, 2017.

North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham photographed at a "Congress on Your Corner" event on March 18, 2017. (Michael Schmidt / Lake County News-Sun)

Rockingham, who has been mayor since 2005 and served for 12 years as alderman before that, said the mayor has always had a vehicle for as long as he has been an elected official. He said the City Council decided "about three or four years ago" to begin leasing the mayor's car rather than purchasing it.

The mayor's previous vehicle was a 2013 Chrysler 300S leased in 2013 for 39 months. The monthly payments were $406.87. At the time, North Chicago had budgeted for monthly lease payments of nearly $1,200. That car has been turned back in.

Before 2013, Rockingham drove a 2006 Chrysler purchased in May 2005, according to a memo from 2013. It had 89,000 miles and was in need of repair, and its trade-in credit was $9,000.

Rockingham, who is running against two write-in candidates in next week's mayoral election, said the mayor's car is usually, "a little bit better than just the Crown Vics they do for the Police Department," referring to the Ford Crown Victoria model often used as police cars and taxicabs. He said he chose a nice car because the mayor often has to take visitors on tours of North Chicago or out to lunch.

"You want a little bit better vehicle to have for that, for those types of occasions," Rockingham said.

Sarah Brune, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, questioned whether Rockingham's car was the best use of public money, especially at a time when municipalities across the state are dealing with rising pension costs and trying to hold the line on property taxes.

"I would say that this is a time when taxpayers and residents want to see restraint from elected officials," said Brune, a Lake Forest College graduate.

When the matter came up for discussion during the public works committee's portion of the City Council meeting Feb. 27, Markham asked, "Why is this needed?" He asked Rockingham if he had a city-issued gas card and a personal vehicle, to which Rockingham replied, "Yes."

Allen said he drives around in a truck with 175,000 miles on it, adding if the mayor needs a car to entertain a visitor or to travel to Springfield he could rent one.

Wilmes said that many communities have a vehicle for their executive staff.

"The mayor chose this one out of many he looked at," Wilmes said. He added that Rockingham did not have to bring the matter to the council; he could have simply entered into the agreement himself under the city's purchasing rules.

"My hat's off to the mayor," Wilmes said.

Markham, an independent candidate trying to fend off a challenge to his seat from Democrat Kenneth Smith next week, said the aldermen should focus "on items that we talk about that are important," such as pensions.

"We don't talk about those things," he said. "But we come along and say, 'Oh, because of the office, this is needed.' I don't see it, I don't agree with it, and I'm not going to vote for it. We can discuss it all night. My vote won't change."

January, a write-in candidate April 4 who was taken off the ballot when independent Paula Carballido challenged her nominating papers, said the city is "borrowing from other departments, we're moving money around to pay for different things."

"One of our projects, we're borrowing from the water fund," January said. "I mean, come on. There's obviously not enough money to cover everything we need to do for this city, and we're worrying about little things that are probably not needed at this time."

January added that the aldermen, "haven't even seen the budget yet … to see where we're at, even currently in the year."

Wilmes said the money for the car was budgeted in the mayor's administrative spending plan.

Later in the Feb. 27 meeting, the council voted without further discussion, with aldermen Ernest Fisher, Bonny Mayfield, Carl Evans and Bob Runnels Sr. voting in favor of leasing the car. In a phone interview, Fisher said the aldermen have "been voting for a car for our mayor ever since I can remember."

"He has meetings to go to in Chicago and Springfield and different places, and he goes there to be involved," said Fisher, who has been an alderman since 1994 and is running as a Democrat for re-election next week against independent Terry Harris. "Our mayor … attends those meetings and he brings back information and he keeps up with the situations that he relays to us."

The council heard a presentation on the budget a few weeks later, at its March 20 meeting. North Chicago staff told the aldermen the city is relying more heavily this year on water and sewer revenues to balance the general fund. During that meeting's public comment time, resident D.J. Fain blasted the aldermen's decision. He noted the city has some residents living in poverty and who are unemployed, and that North Chicago's median household income is just over $41,000.

"That's not the kind of community that should be buying a luxury car or leasing a luxury car for its mayor," Fain said.

A version of this article appeared in print on March 31, 2017, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "North Chicago mayor's luxury car lease prompts questions - Some see wasteful spending in face of budget challenges" —
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